What happened - my first inspection

[chocolateygoo]

Hi

Had loads of good tips from this forum so thought I'd share what happened at my inspection yesterday!

To my surprise, but delight, I got a "good". The inspector made lots of comments / suggestions for improvements which is why I was surprised!

My mindee (age 1) behaved wonderfully but both my 2 children (age 2 and 1) were coming down with a cold and were not very happy. 1 year old cried whenever I put her down! I ended up carrying her around in the sling, putting on a dvd for her, then putting her to bed 2 hours before normal!

My 2 year old couldn't settle to anything for more than a minute and wanted my constant attention so interrupted whenever I tried to answer the inspector's questions.

I can only guess that my paperwork is why I got a good. Most of the time I wasn't able to answer her questions in any coherent manner due to the interruptions and crying, my brain was total mush. Quite a few times my reply was 'what do you mean by that' when she used too much ofsted gobbledegook! Also said ummm and errr a lot.

Things she was quite critical of:
- Healthy eating: I said it was hard to teach children this age about healthy eating in any theoretical manner, but I offered them lots of healthy choices and tried to find ways to make sure they got their 5 a day. E.g. they are not keen on fruit, so I offer smoothies alongside. She said smoothies are the cause of lots of tooth decay in young children... asked me what I was doing to manage their tooth decay! (I replied ummmm!).

- I share photos with parents on google drive, but don't give them any explanation of what their children are doing in the photos, as I think its obvious! I mean he's only 1, he's not doing calculus quite yet! However she thought I should be writing explanations of what they're learning in key photos. I think she was more keen on the scrap-book learning journal style compared to my own short notes and occasional summative assessments.

- I don't record how activities have gone, so that next time I can do them better or differently. This is because I have a memory! Also with only 1 mindee it is easy to remember. We agreed that if I had more children I would keep track of them in writing more.

- Similarly I don't write down what parents tell me mindee can do at home, because I can remember it. Again I will start writing down if I have more mindees.

- She thought I should be doing more messy play activities. I don't do much at the moment as the 1 year olds just try to eat it and its not fun for them or me for me to constantly be stopping them from doing so. I'm also a bit uneasy about food wastage with lots of messy play using food. And the cleaning - mindee hates being washed and its no fun to end an activity with him screaming as I try to wash him off. We both agreed it would get easier as they get older.

I had done a very thorough and honest SEF, and made sure all my paperwork was up to date and as thorough as possible (e.g. risk assessments, first aid contents, cleaning and safety checks rota, weekly activity plans, menus, training ideas, etc). So I'm guessing that she was able to see from all that that I am generally "good" and not a distracted hassled mess like I was on the morning itself!

Awaiting report with baited breath!

[TraceyC]

Well done you. Thank you for all your feedback. I have just had the dreaded call from Ofsted about my first graded inspection. I think the snow is keeping them away this week!!

I am working today but snowbound with my 22 month old, a 18 month old and 9 month old and it has all been chaotic. I can barely answer the phone let along go into paperwork detail with an ofsted inspector. Like you I am being quite thorough with my Sef but I haven't finished it yet. I registered in Sept 2012 and I still feel as though I am setting things up.

I have just sent out some feedback questionnaires and the response was good with some ideas for improvements. Should I have some kind of working with parents file to file these in and any other written converstations? One of the parents suggested a weekly menu which I haven't been doing,, but will do now!

I am in a bit of a panic really and I am not very good at deciding how to file all the paperwork.
x

[nipper]

Well done. Sound like you stuck up for yourself pretty well. I find it quite funny but alarming how different inspectors have their own agendas.
Onwards and upwards!

[christine e]

Well done and thanks for sharing

[Littleglees]

I've got my first inspection in February and I'm worried :-( I have risk assessments, fire alarm testing forms, first aid all appropriate paperwork is up to date but the thing I'm dreading is the questioning :-( what sort of questions do they ask ? X

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[VeggieSausage]

Well done, you can relax now..... could make for an interesting read!!!

(this is not a criticism in any way just how I think about writing down what parents tell you) On the point of writing down what parents tell you, it is good practise to include this within the child's learning journey/development folder etc as parents know their child best etc and it shows partnership working for the best for that child.....may not seem that important for a bright, healthy child who is forging ahead development wise but could be very important for a child with additional needs, emotionally unsettled, emerging problems, welfare issues and who may not be developing at an expected rate and you may need to share this info for other professionals which could be useful.....

[Ballette]

Very well done on your grading and thanks for your detailed feedback

You can relax for a while now!

[silvermist]

Yay congrats on your grade thats brill news. Also the feedback you gave was very imformative and useful to know. Thank you for sharing xxx

PS/ A big glass of vino for you tonight! xx

[Plantpot]

Well done!

Ive got my 1st inspection Friday its been put of a few times because of the snow, im so nervous.
Think im prepared just wondering what sort of questions they ask? any tips would be much appreciated

Many thanks

[hectors house]

Thank you for feedback - so much for "not so much paperwork required for new EYFS" but well done on your grade and for completing your SEF - I really must update mine!

[chocolateygoo]

TraceyC I keep everything from parents (e.g. feedback questionnaires) in the child's folder in my NCMA locked box, as it may have confidential stuff relating to their child on it. Likewise I put all my observations, daily diary etc in there. As I've only got one mindee it all fits but might not if you have more.

I don't think it matters how you file stuff, as long as its all there and easily accessible. I have mine in 4 folders: (1) training (self-assessment, plans for the future, cypop5, safeguarding, first aid) (2) activities planning, weekly plans and ideas for future activities and themes, (3) food - weekly menus, safer food pack, fussy eater resources, etc (4) everything else - crb checks, local council stuff, ncma stuff, risk assessments, evacuation plan, data protection registration, policies & procedures, welcome pack, etc. Its all separated using dividers and I've got a handwritten contents at the front so it was really easy for Ofsted lady to browse through while I was busy.

sarelou76 The questions were very similar to what the self-evaluation form asks. E.g. tell me about safeguarding children. how do you help children make healthy eating choices. What physical activity and outside activities and trips did I offer. What was a typical routine at my house. She asked about my training plans for the future and general career plans. The hardest question I found was relating to the activity we were doing at the time (messing about with a box of snow in the kitchen) and what learning areas it was contributing to. I said understanding the world, finding out about snow, what it felt like, what it did, etc. She wanted to know about the prime learning areas as these are most relevant for my age group, so I said it contributed to language (learning new words and meaning for snow, cold, melt, etc), handling (scooping it up with a spoon) and indirectly for feeding yourself.

Veggiesausage I agree with writing things down to share with professionals. One thing the inspector mentioned was a 'boomerang book' for parents, childminders, preschool, and other professionals to all write in and share what they were observing and doing.

With more perspective I think my inspector was really helpful as she gave me loads of good ideas of things to think about. At the time though it just felt like she was picking holes in everything.

Still waiting for the report - how long do they take to come through? I was hoping soon as I really want to see what she writes!!

[sarah707]

It sounds to me like you had a lovely inspector who talked you through things and listened to what you were saying.

She clearly also recognised how well you were coping

Thank you for the feedback and congratulations!

[Littleglees]

Thank you chocolateygo x

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[Samcat]

My report arrived yesterday, exactly 2 weeks after my inspection.

[MessybutHappy]

Brilliant feedback, thank you! And - Yay! Go You!

[SandCastles]

Congratulations on your inspection and for taking the time to write this.
I'm currently holding a 'good' grade and are overdue with my next inspection.
I have 2 EYFS lo and 5 schoolers and find myself stressing about what my next inspection will be like and how everyone will feel if I slip down a grade!!
Your tips have calmed me and made me focus on getting everything ready one step at a time.

[loocyloo]

well done you.

xxx

and thank you for putting your experience here for us to read. i am very overdue an inspection and everytime the phone rings i think 'this could be it' ! and i am torn between worrying about it and 'what will be will be' attitude!
so it is useful to see what they are looking at/for.

[tiredandemotional]

Thanks so much for your report and well done on your grade! Like overs on here I am well overdue my first inspection and waiting with baited breath each Friday for the phone to ring (in fact I missed a call from Ofsted last Friday which I guess was my inspection call for this week ) I am torn between dreading it and wanting to get it over and done with, and your post has calmed me down as you still got the grade you obviously deserved even though you felt things went wrong on the day- just goes to show that you can't stage manage children and that perhaps some Ofsted inspectors have more common sense than we assume! I have a temperamental three year old daughter who could so easily throw a spanner in the works so your post did make me chuckle with recognition a bit! Well don, relax now and I can't wait to get mine over and done with (if I don't have a nervous breakdown first!)